Safety oven shelf



Sept. 21 1926. 1,600,699

w. PARKE SAFETY OVEN SHELF Fild Feb. 6, 1926 W f /INVENTOR 8 x m,; IZATTORNEYS cidental WILLIAM PARKE, on NEW YORK, N. -Y.,

ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM PARKE, INCOR- PORATED, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ACORPORATIONOF DELAWARE,

SAFETY OVEN SHELF.

Application filed February This invention, like those set forth inPatent No. 1,560,847, granted to me on November 10, 1925, and in myapplication Serial No. 64,840, filed October 26, 1925, is directed toimprovements in food supports for ovens and has for its object theprovision of an improved safety oven shelf or other food-support such asa rack or broiler pan, which can be advanced or retracted in a mannerfavorableto an inspection, or turning, or a basting or other operationinto bakingor broiling or the likeoperations to be executed moreenabling. such safely and more expeditiouslythan hereto fore. 4

The present invention is directed more especially to the simplificationof the structure of the apparatus of the prior patent and applicationjust referred =to,-'and involves modifications which effect even greaterconvenience in the-manipulation of baking and broiling operations andthe'like, and which at the same time result in a construction that canbe manufactured at relatively low cost. In ovens as at present'constructed the shelves are supported upon ledges of. flat sheet metalsecured to the opposite wallsof side of the oven.

the oven. Sometimes these ledges are spaced sufficiently close to oneanother so as to support the shelf in an advanced or extended positionwith the major portion thereof out- Inasmuch, however, as the shelf issupported by contact at the front with the ledge belowit,and by upwardpressure at the rear' against the bottom ofthe ledge above it, andinasmuch as the spacing of'the shelvesis determined more with-the ideaof obtaining. a suitable adjustment of the height of the shelf-withinthe oven, than of: providing means for supporting the shelf infltheextended-position; the shelves thus I supportedalmost'irrvariablytiltfoiiward-to an undesired. extent when in s the extended-position,"'even to the point of spilling'the contents of-;foodreceptacles resting upon-the shelves. w I

I With shelves thus supported directly; up

on the walls ofthe oven, itis necessary to provide a certain amount ofplay between thesidesof the shelfand the oven walls so as toallow forthebulging of the wallsunder expansion due to the heat.- Even with therelatively large clearances which are customary it is difiicult to pullthe shelf 6, 1926. Serial 101 86,463.

straight out. If the shelf is grasped near one side instead of near thecenterit very easily becomes wedged against the side walls 1' of theoven and sticksor jams in such a Way as to be almost immovable,particularly when it is considered that the shelf must be handled hotwith the aid of cloths or other protection for the hands. I lVhen it isdesired to' inspect f roast which is being cooked in anordinary oven asthus constructed, with the opening of the oven door a hot blast strikes.theface of the cook to pull it out in spite'of the jamming, she 1 isextremely liable to be burned -although perhaps not seriously, yet mostuncomfortably. Moreover, the likelihood of the shelf sticking or jamm ngs increased by the fact that by the time the oven hasbeen. in use.

for a short'while various foods will have been spilled therein to agreate'r or less ex tent which is impossible to prevent. 'The shelfsupporting ledges, unfortunately, are

eflicient collectors of thesespilled foods,and

material such as sugar or .flour carbonize and harden upon, these ledgesandwithin the grooves formed between the ledges, (and these togetherwith the accumulating. rust partially obstruct-the grooves andmakethesliding of the shelves still more 1 diflicult. These ledges areextremely difiicult if t not almost impossible to clean.;; -,Thesticking and jamming of these ishelves is ,probablythe most direct causeof all oven burns. .In the present construction ofoven shelves and theirsupports there is fno provision made ,for, limiting or, even"indicating, when the; sh.e1f.:ha .-b n pul ed out qrextended as far asit can be with safety, and 1i ,th excitementofinspectiomorebastingn is.the hot blast- =from the joveiuncomfortable to the hands and face, butalso this blasttq- ,gether with the. zvap'ors'fromlthe product,ein'g-cookedeseriously interfere .with- Hence a sticking; ortjam I is Zliable: to 1 be. pulled? out 1300.11 far, er the damageofgthetstoveroreven' tent s extent of allowing; the 'lroastwto ggfalla 2 *floor-withtheattendant dangeno additional housewife seldom attempts to perform abasting or other similar operation without entirely removing the roastfrom the oven to the top of the stove or to a table, this being anundesirable and inconvenient procedure.

According to the present invention the food support, such for example asa rack or shelf or broiling pan, is appropriately constructed andsupported within the oven so as properly to guide the support as itslides outwardly to'the advanced or extended position where the majorportion of the support is outside of the oven. In addition, the foodsupport, in this normal. extended position, where it presents the foodcarried upon it for inspection, basting, etc., cannot be moved beyondthis fully extended position inadvertently. It can, however, be removedfrom the oven by tilting it backward slightly, that is, by lifting thefront of the support but the provision for limiting the outward movementof the food support does not interfere with its replacement in the oven.Moreover, the food support, even when in the normal fully extendedposition, is accurately held in a position very closely approximatingthe horizontal. Furthermore, the construction of the supports upon whichthe food support is slidable is such as to resist the collection offoreign substances and, although easy to clean, actually requiressubstantially no cleaning. Also, in accordance with the invention, theshelf is carried upon supports which are substantially unvariable inposition under changes in temperature.

The invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanyingdrawings which, by way of example illustrate the referred constructionof two similar emodiments of the invention. In these drawig. 1 is aperspective view of a rack or shelf carried upon a frame-work which isremovably secured in an oven, only fragments of the oven walls beingillustrated;

Fig. '2 is a side elfiation ofthe devices shown in Fig, 1 drawn to a.somewhat smaller scale 7 Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate details ofconstruction, Fig. 3 showing the formation of the feet of the frame-workand Fig. 4 being a sectional view taken on the line 4,4 of

Fig 1;

' i 5 is a perspective view of a handle wlidic may be used for movingthe shelf; an

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modification intended particularly foruse in the broiler compartment of a stove.

..Fig. 7 is a modification showing the guide rail built into the wallsof an oven.

Referring now to these drawings, the shelf 10 comprises a rim 11 ofheavy .wire having 7 longitudinally extending bars 12 welded to thefront and rear portions of the rim. This shelf is supported upon shortprojections 13 which extend transversely or laterallyof the oven andwhich are appropriately supported therein near the side Walls of thework 17 so constructed as to be removably secured Within the oven thusadapting the apparatus to be installed in ovens already in use. In fact,projections 13 may conveniently be formed integrally with the guide.rails 16 and serve as the support for the front ends of these rails tohold them in spaced relation to the walls of the oven.

The rear ends of rail 16 are also conveniently formed with similarprojections for the purpose of support.

These projections are welded respectively to the front and rearrectangular wire frames 18 and 19. To give rigidity to the frame-work17, and for the purpose of providing supports for additional shelves 10,or for supporting the shelf 10 in different positions within the oven,additional guide rails 20 and 21 are also Welded to the front and rearframes 18 and 19.

The frames 18' and 19 are preferably made of Wire of suitable gaugeappropriately bent and Welded together. A vertical rod 22 is Welded tothe rear frame 19 as a rear stop for the shelves 10,. These frames areso bent at the bottom as to form the feet 23 and to prevent the lowercross bars ofeach of the frame heads 18 and 19 from coming in contactwith the oven floor. In this way the frame-work 17 is firmly supportedupon the floor of the oven without danger of irregularities thereincausing an uncertain or rocking support.

The frame-Work 17 is removably secured Within the oven by means of thedevices shown in detail in Fig. 4. These devices include members 24 and25 which are clamped about the uprights of the frame heads 18 and 19 bymeans of screws 26, and

member 24 is provided with an angular ex tension 27 having a tapped holethere through into which the thumb screw 28 is threaded. These devicesat the front of the frame-work 17 have their angular extensions 27 sobent as to cause the thumb screws 28 to be directed at an angle suchthat any tendency to pull the frame-work forward will cause the ends ofthe thumb screws to press more firmly against the walls of the oven. Theangular extensions .27 of the fastening devices at therear of frame-work"1-7 are preferably bent at right angles to the qmembers 24 and 25 so asto position the rear thumb screws 28 perpendicularly to the side wallsof the oven one of which is indicated at 29,

Returning now to the particular means for supporting. and guiding theshelf 10 provided by the present invention, 10 is provided at its rearend preferably upon the rim 11 with members 30 for engaging the undersurfaces and the inside surfaces of the guide rail 16. These members areshown as hooks welded to the under-side of rim 11 at 31 and they extendunderneath the guide rail 16 and also engage the inside surfaces ofthese guide rails by means of their vertically curved portions 32. As aresult of the support of the shelf 11 on the projections 13 and at thepoints 15, the shelf may be slid forward with relatively low friction,and because of the engagement of portions 32 of members 30 with theinside of the guide rails 16 of the rear end of shelf 10 is accuratelyguided during this movement. Hence, even when the shelf is grasped withthe hands or with the prong of the handle 33 even close to one side ofthe shelf, the shelf will slide forward easily being guided at the rearend in the manner just described, and at its front end by contact withthe uprights of frame head 18. A loop 34 is shown as being welded to thefront portion of rim 11 for the insertion of the prong of handle 33 whenit is desired to push the shelf back into the oven.

It is, however, not necessary to use the handle 33 unless desired as theshelf can easily be pushed back into position by pressing upon anyportion of the front thereof.

As the s elf moves outwardly the center of gravity of the weight thereofeventually passes the projections 13 and the rear end of the shelf ismoved upwardly to a slight extent until the members 30 which closelyengage the under-surface of guide rails 16 come into contact therewith,thus preventing the tilting or canting forward of shelf 10 andmaintaining it in very close to the horizontal position durng the entiremovement and even when it reaches the fully extended or fully advancedposition. In order 'to limit the forward'movement of the shelf,depending stop. members 35 are welded to the bottoms of the sides 14 ofshelf 10. The forward ends of stop members 35 are made substantiallyvertical and they engage the projections 13 to stop the forwardmovement.

If it should be desired, however, to entirely remove shelf 10 from theoven this may be done merely by lifting slightly on the front end oftheshelf which Wlll cause the bottoms of stop members 35 to pass thetops of projections .13 whereby the shelf may be moved beyond the normalfully extended position and removed from the oven.

the shelf It is desirable to make the replacement of the shelf withinthe oven as convenient as rails 16, these supports for the shelf 10 arenot subject to lateral movement due to changes of temperature and likelyto cause binding ofthe sides of the shelf. This advantage proceedsfromthe fact that the upright posts at the corners of the frame-work' 17formed by the'side members of frame heads 18 and 19 are rigid and beinto the oven at one end only, that is, %y means of the clamping devicesshown in Fig. 4, are free to expand vertically, these posts being freeof restraint at their opposite ends.

This advantage may also be secured, though perhaps to a somewhat lessextent, if the guide rails 16Vare attached directly to'the interior ofthe stove, provided, how ever, that these rails are attached at theirends only, thus supporting the intermediate portions of the rails inspaced relation to the walls of the oven so that the bulging of thesewalls when heated does not bring them into contact with the rails.

Another advantage of removably secur ing the frame-work 17 within theoven is to be found in the convenience of cleaning the oven affordedthereby. By loosening the thumb screws 28 the entire frame-work togetherwith the shelves 10 can be taken bodily from the oven, leaving noobstructions in the oven to interfere with the clean ing operation. Thuswith stoves manufactured with the intention of' supporting the shelves10 by the removable frame-work 17 there being no ledges or grooves orother means of supporting the shelves onthe walls of the oven, thesewalls may be made smooth and without any obstructions to interfere withcleaning.

A modified form of the apparatus shown in Fig. 6 is intendedparticularly for use in the broiling compartment of the stove where itis desirable to be able to adjust the distance of the food from theflame or other heating means. Hence the supporting guide rails 37 arespaced relatively close together, although there is sufficient clearancebetween them to allow the shelf 38 with its stop 39 to be inserted onany one of the rails. The frame-work shown in Fig. 6 is of weldedconstruction similar to that secured of frame-work 17 the front and rearframe j which is smaller than an oven, such for example as thecompartment for broiling which is usually situated below the oven.

The improved oven shelf and support of the present invention isof greatconvenience in carrying on roasting, baking and other oven operationsfor the reason that the shelf is readily slidable from within the ovento the fully extended position where the entire surface of the shelf isreadily accessible. The shelf in its normal horizontal or food-carryingposition can not be moved outwardly beyond the fully extended positionat WhlCh the shelf is safely and firmly supported as securely as thoughit were withdrawn with- 1n the oven. Another feature which adds to theconvenience of the shelf, is its ability to be readily removed from theoven by lifting slightly the forward end, and still another advantage ofthe present construction resides in the fact that the shelf may beeasily replaced within the oven.

I claim: 1. A device of the character described comprising thecombination of a movable shelf for supporting food within an oven,

v carrying means mounted within the oven A for closely load-carrylngupon which the front of the shelf is slidably carried, a guide railextending from the rear towards the front of the oven, a finger securednear the rear end of the shelf engaging the rail, said finger serving tosupport the shelf accurately in a horizontal position and to guide theshelf in a substantially straight line movement as the shelf is movedoutwardly, and a projection depending from the shelf and engageable withsaid carrying means, said projection being spaced forward of the rearend of the shelf a suffiient distance to arrest the movement of theshelf in its extreme outward position, and said projection being raisedby. the tilting of the shelf about the rear end of the shelf as a pivot,and said projection having a front face which is disengaged when in thisraised position from said carrying means so as to permit the removalfrom the oven of the shelf while loaded.

2. A'device of the character described comprising the combination of amovable shelf for supporting food within an oven, carrying means mountedwithin the oven upon which the front of the shelf is slidably carried, aguide rail extending from the rear towards the front of the oven, afinger secured near the rear end of the shelf for closely engaging therail, said finger serving to support the shelf accurately in ahorizontal position and to guide the shelf in a substantially straightline movement as the shelf is moved outwardly and a projection dependingfrom the shelf and engageable with said carrying means,

said projection being spaced forward of the rear .comprising thecombination a sufficient distance to end of the shelf a sufficientdistance to arrest the movement of the shelf in its extreme outwardload-carrying position, and said projection being shelf about the rearend of the shelf as a pivot, said projection having a front face whichis disengaged when in this raised position from said carrying means soas to permit the removal from the oven of the shelf while loaded, andsaid projection having a sloping rear face by which a loaded shelfreinserted in the oven is automatically raised over said carrying means.I

3. A device of the character described comprising a combination ofsupporting and guiding rail mounted within an oven, a shelf slidableupon said rail from a point within the oven to an extended load-carryingposition where the major portion of the shelf is without the oven, andmeans for arresting the outward movement of the shelf when it remains inthe normal horizontal position, said means being rendered inoperative bylifting the front of the shelf while in the extended load-carryingposition so as to allow the shelf to be removed from the oven.

4:- A device of the character described comprising the combination ofsupporting and guiding rails mounted within an oven, a shelf slidableupon said rails from a point within the oven to an extendedload-carrying position where the major portion of the shelf is withoutthe oven, means for arresting the outward movement of the shelf when itremains in the normal horizontal position, said means being renderedinoperative by lifting the front of theshelf while in the extendedposition so as to allow the shelf to be removed from the oven whileloaded, and means for rendering said arresting means inoperative whenthe shelf is reinserted upon the rails so as to allow the Shelf to bereinserted while in a substantially horizontal load-carrying'position.

5. A device of the character described of a movable supporting foodwithin an oven, carrying means mounted within the oven upon which thefront of the shelf is slidably carried, a guide rail'extending from therear toward the front of the oven at each side, fingers secured near therear end of the shelf for closely engaging the bottom and inner side ofeach rail, said fingers serving to support the shelf accurately in ahorizontal position and to guide the shelf in a substantially straightline movement as the shelf is'moved outwardly, and a projectiondepending from the shelf and engageable with said carrying means, saidprojection being spaced forward of the shelf for arrest the movement ofthe shelf in its extreme outward loadcarrying posltion, said projectionbeing raised by the tilting of the t rear end of the shelf raised by thetilting of the shelf about the rear end of the shelf as a pivot, andsaid projection having a front face which is disengaged when in thisraised position from said carrying means so as to permit the removalfrom the oven of the shelf while loaded.

6. A device of the character described comprising the combination of amovable shelf for supporting food within an oven, carrying means mountedwithin the oven upon which the front of the shelf is slidably carried, aguide rail extending from the rear toward the front of the oven at eachside, fingers secured near the rear end of the,

shelf for closely engaging the bottom and inner sides of each rail, saidfin ers serving to support the shelf accurately in the horizontalposition and to guide the shelf in a substantially straight linemovement as the shelf is moved outwardly and a projection depending fromthe shelf and engageable with said carrying means, said projection beingspaced forward of the rear end of the shelf a sufficient distance toarrest the movement of the shelf in its extreme outward load-carryingposition, and said projection being raised by the tilting of the shelfabout the rear end of the shelf as a pivot, said projection having afront face which is disengaged when in this raised position from saidcarrying means so as to permit the removal from the oven of the shelfwhile loaded, and said projection having a sloping rear face by which aloaded shelf reinserted in the oven is automatically raised over saidcarrying means.

7. A device of the character described comprising the combination of amovable shelf for supporting food within an oven, means mounted withinthe oven upon which the front of the shelf is slidably carried, a guiderail extending from the rear toward the front of the oven, a finger onthe shelf for engaging the rail to support the shelf accurately in thehorizontal position and to guide the shelf in substantially a straightline movement as the shelf is moved outward, and coacting stop memberson said shelf and rail respectively positioned to arrest the movement ofthe shelf in its extreme outward load-carrying position, said meansbeing disengageable from one another by tilting the loaded shelf when insaid position so as to permit the removal from the oven of the shelfwhile loaded.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM PARKE.

